Mark Morton

Dr. Mark Morton is one of a very few bassists in the Unites States that can accurately claim equal measure of experience as: a principal in a major symphony orchestra, an internationally recognized double bass soloist, a leading, innovative pedagogue. Additionally, Dr. Morton plays and teaches both the French and German bows, and is an accomplished pianist – often accompanying his students in lessons and recital.

Morton has played under the direction of many conductors including Leonard Bernstein, Lorin Maazel, Alexander Schneider, Hans Graf, Gunther Herbig, Vladimir Spivakov, Maxim Shostakovich, Gunther Schuller, Nicholas MacGeegan, Marvin Hamlisch, John Williams, Henry Mancini and Mitch Miller. Dr. Morton has twice appeared as the guest principal bass of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, Pinchas Zuckerman, Music Director. He has performed in Alice Tully and Avery Fischer Halls in Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Musikverein in Vienna, La Scala in Milan, and has appeared in Carnegie Hall, New York City over 30 times.

Morton has performed on stage with many pop artists including: Dizzie Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, James Taylor, The Beach Boys (twice), Brian Wilson, Three Dog Night, Doc Severinson, The Eagles, Jose Feliciano, Marilyn McCoo, Peter, Paul & Mary, Luciano Pavorotti (twice), Judy Collins (twice), The Smothers Brothers, Marichi Cobre, Ricky Scaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Asleep at the Wheel, Boyz2 Men, and many others.

Additionally, Mark Morton is an accomplished pianist, having appeared as piano concerto soloist with several orchestras, including the Houston Symphony Orchestra. His CD release on Albany Records, Bottesini Greatest Hits features Morton accompanying himself on piano, for which American Record Review says, “Mark Morton is a fine player on both instruments, and the music is lovely…” Fanfare commented, “His intonation is fine, and he certainly handles the bravura passages well.”

Formerly, Dr. Morton was instructor of double bass at Capital University, and Ohio Wesleyan University, and was the assistant double bass instructor for Gary Karr at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. In the summer, he taught and performed alongside members of the Los Angeles, Chicago, Montreal, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras at PRISMA in, Powell River, British Columbia. He also taught and performed in the Festival Internacional de Música in Naolinco, Mexico. Additionally he has been on the faculty of a number of festivals in Costa Rica.

In summers 2012 and 2013, Morton traveled to Parma, Italy where, in the Conservatorio di Musica ‘A. Boito’, the Giovanni Bottesini manuscripts are housed. There, he took 3837 digital photographs of these manuscripts and is currently cataloguing them for the Biblioteca Palatina in Parma, preserving these priceless documents in perpetuity.

Though he has spent much of his career in Ohio and New York City, Dr. Morton is originally from Texas and is 4-year Texas All-Stater – 2 years a second chair Symphony Orchestra, and two years as first chair Symphony Orchestra. The DrMarkMorton YouTube Channel is a go-to reference for TMEA All-State audition demonstrations, excerpts, etudes and solos, and has garnered over 6600 subscribers and more than 1.3 million views. https://www.youtube.com/c/DrMarkMorton

Dr. Morton earned the undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Juilliard School in New York, being the only bassist to earn the Artist Diploma, Bachelor, Master and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees all from Juilliard. While there, he was a member of the first historically informed performance group at Juilliard - the Juilliard Chamber Orchestra - under the direction harpsichordist Albert Fuller. The JCO, under the direction of José Serebrier, performed a 13 city, 10 country tour of South America in summer 1983. Morton was also a member of the Bach Players, a student formed ensemble that performed all the major orchestral works of J.S. Bach. His principal teachers include David Walter, Channing Robbins, Stuart Sankey, Eugene Levinson and Winston Budrow.

Morton performs on a double bass made in Milan, Italy by J.B. Guadagnini in 1765, a very large orchestral double bass made by Joseph and Antonio Gagliano in Naples, Italy in 1805, and copy of his Guadagnini bass by Paul Hart of Mt. Pleasant, UT in 2013.
Mark Morton is the author of the popular “Dr. Morton” series of double bass technique books, and has numerous articles in all important trade periodicals.

Current and Former students have achieved the following accomplishments:

1st Prize Winner, Bellagrande International Music Competition
Silver Prize, Euterpe Music Awards
1st Prize, State of Texas, OPUS Music Competition
2 students were in the final trial period for principal bass of the Detroit Symphony
1 student was in the final trial period for principal bass of the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa, Canada)
Professor of double bass at University of Iowa
Professor of double bass at Oklahoma University
Professor of Cello and Double Bass at San Angelo State University
Professor of double bass at Grand Rapids Community College
Professor of double bass at Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernevaca, México
2 students have been first-prize winners of the ISB Solo Competition (professional division)
3rd prize in the ISB Solo Competition (junior division)
Members of the Lubbock, West Texas, Abeline, and Amarillo Symphony Orchestras
Member of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.
2 students went on to graduate school at Indiana University
Attended Boston Conservatory
Attended Carnegie-Melon University
First-prize and second-prize winners of the Columbus Symphony Concerto competition
First Chair of the TMEA All-State Symphony Orchestra